Bayer Leverkusen scored twice after 120 minutes to win 4-2 at 10-man Paderborn, while Stuttgart also progressed in the German Cup second round.
BAYER Leverkusen scored two goals after the 120-minute mark to win 4-2 at a 10-man Paderborn in the German Cup second round on Wednesday.
Fellow Bundesliga side and reigning champions Stuttgart also eased through with a 2-0 victory at Mainz.
A frustrating night for the 2024 German domestic double winners looked destined to go to spot-kicks until 19-year-old Ibrahim Maza netted to spare Leverkusen’s blushes against their second-division opponents.
Aleix Garcia then added gloss to the result with a late fourth goal for the visitors.
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Earlier, Alejandro Grimaldo’s 60th-minute free-kick for Leverkusen was cancelled out when Paderborn’s Stefano Marino scored in the final minute of regular time.
Leverkusen struggled to break down their less-fancied opponents, who had not lost since August.
In extra-time, Paderborn stunningly took the lead through Sven Michel on 96 minutes despite being reduced to 10 men before the hour for a last-man foul.
Former Liverpool centre-back Jarell Quansah made it 2-2 shortly before the extra-time interval to set up the dramatic finale.
Maza then showed composure that belied his years to fire in from close range for the visitors in the 122nd minute.
As Paderborn pushed up looking for another late equaliser, Garcia profited to grab a fourth for Kasper Hjulmand’s side.
Current cup holders Stuttgart won 2-0 at Mainz thanks to goals from Luca Jaquez and captain Atakan Karazor.
Centre-back Jaquez rose high to head in a corner with six minutes gone in their second-round match.
With 73 minutes played, Karazor blasted in on the counter after Germany midfielder Angelo Stiller’s clever dummy fooled the home defence.
Elsewhere, Magdeburg won at fourth-tier Illertissen 3-0 and 2024 finalists Kaiserslautern won 1-0 at Greuther Fuerth.
Wednesday’s winners join Borussia Dortmund, Hertha Berlin, RB Leipzig, Hamburg, St Pauli, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Holstein Kiel and Bochum in the last 16.
Later on Wednesday, 20-time German Cup winners Bayern Munich played away at Cologne. – AFP
